Our guest is a premier authority on infographics and their value: Brian Wallace, President of NowSourcing specializing in infographic design, development and content marketing promotion.

Chris actually met Brian at his NowSourcing booth at the 2014 New Media Expo last month.

NEWS ITEM: Facebook Paper, which is only for iOS, is being enjoyed by many and discussed online quite a bit recently. The viewer can’t actually add any content, but it’s fun distraction (not essential) with a good user experience. Also, David answered a question by clarifying that Facebook Paper is completely different from paper.li (which is an automatic online newspaper that aggregates content from what people post).

Back to infographics.. One main aim of an infographic is to take a whole bunch of data and research and create a nice graphic that presents the data to the viewer in a simple digestible format. Brian mentioned that a good infographic can cut through the noise of everyday marketing. “The world needs more ‘librarians’ for this mess of a landfill of data and content that’s smacking us in the face daily.”

One strategy: Start with an amazing topic. As viewers read the infographic, present the data to take them on a journey. At the top, have more global/general information. Toward the bottom, have more specific information for qualifying your leads.

David told us he once had an idea for an infographic, but that’s where it ended… * Reminder: Tweet along with the Live show using hashtag #unscrambled (Tuesdays at 1:30pm ET)

Brian Wallace started NowSourcing in 2005. He has extensive online experience in web, tech, marketing and more. He mentioned that every 2-3 years there’s a cycle where the overall internet infrastructure takes a jump forward. Speed of the internet, capabilities of computers, new online platforms, etc. And as everything improves, so will infographics. Most infographics these days are static. In the future they will be interactive in many ways: animation, html5 capabilities, computational, better displays, etc.

TIP OF THE WEEK: Turn off auto direct messaging on Twitter. Ever follow someone and then you get an automatic pre-programmed message in return? Yeah, that. If you REALLY need to reach out to people who just followed you, simply mention them in a regular tweet and say thanks for following, or whatever. Also, “TrueTwit validation” is one of the auto-messages we get a lot which asks you to validate that you’re actually human. Last week Chris asked Evan Dunn about it and he said don’t bother actually doing it because no one does. Sigh…

Also, David asked what is Google Fiber, so Brian explained it’s Google’s fiber-optic Gigabit ethernet active in only 3 cities: Austin TX, Kansas City, and Provo UT. We did not know that 😉 …Sounds like a breakfast cereal, no?

Thanks for a great appearance on the show, Brian!

Brian Wallace is the President of NowSourcing, a firm specializing in infographic design, development and content marketing promotion. The company is based in Louisville, KY and works with companies that range from startups to Fortune 500.

*Dino mentioned a BIG discount for the New Media Expo, which will be held in Las Vegas January 4-6, 2014. If you purchase tickets on Black Friday you’ll get 50% off plus another 20% if you use the code dino20.

Our guest Art Jones, Strategic Advisor & Creative Director at The ART of Marketing, has expertise in 3 critical areas – marketing, sales and technology! And in addition to admiring his innate knowledge of HOW technology continually changes the business landscape, it’s refreshing to hear that he gives the utmost importance to the idea that People Really Matter.

We discussed Inbound Marketing, Context along with Content, Mobile Media, a handful of astounding new Mobile Medical capabilities.

And check out some of Art’s lessons learned during his career:

Be authentic

Hire the best

Build strong teams

Listen to the marketplace

Create corporate culture where people are free to innovate, create and make magic for clients

Honor the Power of Words for they can change the fortunes of people and businesses

Be resilient, the pace of the always on and connected world will continue to quicken

Last and perhaps most important always remember, whatever we do “People Really Matter.”

It is no longer surprising to anyone that photos are being shared with friends and strangers all over the world, all through the miraculous technology that is the internet. Smartphones and cameras enable their owners to take pictures and instantly post them on various webpages. With this interactivity, and just a little bit of narcissism, you can channel these photographic skills into a social media marketing technique that will be fresh and unique – unlike anything you’ve done before.

The premier photo sharing website to date is Instagram. It allows users to upload their photography with searchable hashtags, filters to make the photography look professional, and even Cinema, a camera stabilization feature. It has recently developed into a video sharing site as well, allowing users to loop twelve second videos.

Instagram, to the average businessperson, sounds like a “cute idea,” or a nice way for people to display their hobby. But used correctly, as Jenn Herman (http://jennstrends.wordpress.com/) explained on this week’s Social Media Unscrambled, it can be an innovative way to share your product and ideas.

Jenn originally thought that Instagram was kind of a waste of time. She could take and publish her own photography – she was already an avid photographer. She didn’t need to see everyone’s picture of their latest outfit or favorite recipe. But when she became more deeply involved in social media marketing, and started a blog to help others understand social media trends, applications, and benefits, she realized how much Instagram had to offer to her and her readers. She created her own Instagram handle – jennherman31.

When Jenn works with clients, her purpose is to enable them to use social media – correctly. While most business people know that social media is the way to go, they don’t realize the best procedure, policies, and platforms for them. For a while, Instagram fit into a category of seldom used social media practices. However, she now advocates the fun and creative outlet.

Instagram is a photo sharing version of Twitter; a user can constantly post their pictures in real time. Both smartphone owners and digital camera users have the opportunity to upload and edit photography. The feed containing the instant photographs is updated constantly for fresh content. While posting, the photographer can also use a hashtag to label the picture, in order for people to find, like, and share the photograph even after the feed has extended past that time period.

Instagram is comparable with a tweet or Facebook text post in many ways; it shares a concise message of an idea or product that can create conversation and interaction. However, it is also very different; Instagram is meant to be fun. It is meant to be creative in a different way from text posts, even ones with catchy slogans and puns. Pictures, such as those published through Instagram, change the type of interaction that a business can have with its consumers, and enables a more behind-the-scenes look. Clients enjoy an exclusivity factor that a picture can provide – an update on a product, a window into the factory or studio, and an insight to who the producers truly are. Instagram, put simply, is a fun and different way to share content that will make clients feel that they have an extra place.

Instagram is similar to and can be connected with other social media features, especially Facebook. Similar to Facebook, you can find users and photography by searching, or in this case, using the “explore” button. However, Instagram does not have EdgeRank (a fancy Facebook algorithm), so it allows literally anything to come up in the feed, and even allows for more visibility than Facebook posts.

To clarify, Facebook’s EdgeRank determines whether or not certain posts come up in a user’s feed. When a fan interacts with your page, it gives your page a higher ranking to them. The algorithm determines which of your posts to display to them based on when they are online, their other preferences, and many other factors. This can be frustrating to page moderators, since some fans will not see the content.

Jenn gave some great advice on helping your Facebook page get more views and avoid the pitfalls of EdgeRank. Facebook wants you to stay on their site, so links to external pictures, blog posts, and websites will be featured less than simple text posts. However, if you put a link to a blog post or picture, and then later post a link back to that Facebook post, it will enable more viewers to see the post. Additionally, because Instagram is owned by Facebook, Facebook’s EdgeRank will publish Instagram photo links more prominently than links to photos on other photo viewing platforms.

With Instagram, Jenn has informed us that you can allow your customers to see the real you, behind your product or business. It’s a great way to engage, no matter what you are selling. However, make sure to use it appropriately and correctly – yes, Anthony Weiner, we’re looking at you! No more sexting with photos through Twitter.

Thanks for tuning in to the 10th episode of Social Media Unscrambled! As always, you can hear the podcast live on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM EST on The Fractal Stream internet radio station, or anytime on iTunes as a podcast! As hosts Chris Curran of Fractal Recording and David Deutsch of SynergiSocial depart for the month of August, they leave a final Social Media Tip of the Week.

David recommends using bitly.com in order to shorten your links. This not only leaves more room for content in your social media post, but also tracks the amount of people who click the link. This will allow you to determine what type of post is best for your viewers, as well as the social media platforms where your posts receive the most attention. Google, too, has a link shortener, but it does not track the clicks.

They know where your inbox is. They know how to grab your attention. And they’re going to make you want their product. It’s time that you could do the same, don’t you think?

Even with the multitude of social media sites, users must not forget the power of the email list. Email marketing continues to be a powerful tool in reaching customers, clients, friends, and networks. An email serves as a medium that practically ensures a user’s eyes on the media; while a Facebook user might never scroll to see the post of a page they Liked three years ago, the same person could check their email daily to see personal notes, news, savings, and other media.

Email marketing is the topic of this week’s Social Media Unscrambled broadcast, with special guest Mike Brooks of Nuclear Chowder Marketing, which focuses on Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Email Marketing, and Integrated Online Marketing for small businesses. Mike was able to give some great tips and insights about marketing via email, as well as other social media tools.

Mike’s background in marketing started as he set out to advertise his martial arts school in 2002. Within two years, the internet was booming, and people were flocking to Mike for help with even the simplest of tasks. By 2009, Mike was helping internet users with their marketing strategies all over the world, so he sold his share of the school and opened Nuclear Chowder Marketing, (which also has a great podcast!)

Mike explained that while some internet users are still stumped by social media sites, almost everyone has (and checks) their email. After all, in order to register on any other website, you need to enter your email address. Even if you’re not on Facebook or Google+, email is a surefire way to reach a client. After all, you’ll be reaching right into their inbox.

Mike holds that email is not going away, and there’s still a lot of pull in using email advertising if you utilize it correctly. On many social media and internet sites, people are becoming wary. They realize that if they “Like” or “Follow” a page, they will receive tons of information that they don’t necessarily care about. In order to reach internet-wary users, there has to be something different in the email, something special, something unique. People have gotten smart; they don’t blindly enter their address into every white text-box any more.

As a business owner, you don’t want to waste your time on a program that won’t yield results. Although you might have numerous Twitter followers, the number of those who actually read your tweets every day may be fewer than you think. Facebook Likes are quick and mindless. With an email, your information is much more tangible to users, and safer for you. You know that the activity that comes from your emails will be from users who truly read and want to be a part of what you’re writing, as opposed to senseless Facebook ads. Where you put your energy, that’s where the money will come from.

Mike stresses the use of word patterns, and taking people out of their comfort zone/haze. You need a title that is random and exciting, something that will make the receiver open the email. But most folks stick with the boring standards… As Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg once stated; “if you’re not breaking something, you’re not moving fast enough.”

While there is a term, social media ninja, ninja-like abilities on social media sites are far from what you want to exercise. Social media should never be discrete or silent. Its purpose is to get in the face of a client and interest them in what you have to offer, be it on Twitter, Facebook, or in their email inbox.

Speaking of other social media sites, there has been some important news in the world of social media this week. LinkedIn Signal, which is way to search updates across LinkedIn, whether you are connected to the other users or not, is being disabled. Additionally, the blogging platform Tumblr had a security breach and advised all users to change their security passwords immediately.

These problems in the world of social media emphasize how important it is to broadcast in a way that is not only via a public forum, but reaching customers directly – by email. Additionally, other tools such as Facebook Graph search are available as ways to find and reach connections. Graph search finds information based on your Facebook network and connections, and then gives results based on your network, not just everything on the internet like Google or Bing does. What a great way to cut down to see the most relevant social media information for your business!

To quote our hosts, “This show, as you might guess from the title, is all about figuring out social media.” And that it does. Hosts Chris Curran of Fractal Recording and David Deutsch of SynergiSocial strive to create an entertaining medium for their listeners to learn about the many types of social media that can help them in their professional and personal lives. You can even reach them on email, or just tune in next week for another great guest on Social Media Unscrambled.

Many people still have trouble getting a handle on what social media truly is, and besides how to work the basics, what it can be used for. They know that there is Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, but what is the purpose of having friends and followers? Blogspot is simple enough to use, but what should you say? How can a small business monetize the increasing social media activity in the world? Social Media Unscrambled, the podcast radio show broadcast live on The Fractal Stream internet radio station, seeks to help solve many of the questions that the average user has about his or her media.

For these heavy questions, the hosts of Social Media Unscrambled, Chris Curran and David Deutsch, seek advice from another influencer in the social media world. Mark Schaefer, of http://www.businessesgrow.com/, joined the show via Skype from his home in Tennessee. Mark has many claims to his name; besides his successful blog, he also runs a thriving consulting business, teaches at Rutgers, and has authored and co-authored multiple books in the area of social media. And he certainly contributed valuable insights in this episode.

Social media is a constantly updating story, and the news this week proves that. Episodes ago, the hosts shared a story about a Texas student who made a nasty comment on Facebook and subsequently was sent to jail, and was left in there for many months. Recently though, someone (a good Samaritan?!) bailed him out for $500,000. This story once again exaggerates the viewfinder of social media; any comment can be used to reach across the globe, both positively and negatively. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, sharks were attacking from the air… through the television, at least. “SharkNado,” a movie about falling sharks on Los Angeles, did not do nearly as well on the television as it did on the internet. Twitter users blew up the tag, and it was reported that more people were tweeting about the movie than actually watching it.

This proves that traditional media is being officially dwarfed by the social media. The question @smUnscrambled had for its guest, Mark Schaefer, was- “but how do you monetize that?” Netflix, too, has been using social media to monetize as well as to determine what’s working in their media streaming business.

Schaefer started to explain that the most important part of social media is to promote a passion. While people love products, they don’t necessarily talk about them. What a business needs to do is turn their product into a conversation and receive impressions, using social media. New studies by Ogilvy are examining passion for products and consequently how users are sharing about them online. As Mark says, all information can be monetized, because everything “means something, you just have to figure out what.” Twitter is doing this with Nielsen (the market research and ratings company), as they determine that most people have “two screens” in front of them (TV and smartphone/tablet, etc), and are deciding how to monetize that.

Schaefer has also found a different way to monetize– to take his knowledge and publish it into books. He proclaims that he wants a “MarkNado” to rain his books and blog posts all over the world as a tornado, but, as one of his books is already the most sold book about Twitter worldwide, you could already say that he’s had some fair weather. (His internet goal is to eventually become a meme, and through today’s show, he definitely has the spunk.)

One of Mark’s books is Born to Blog: Building Your Blog for Personal and Business Success one Post at a Time. Mark frustratingly comments on the lack of business people with blogs. He maintains that anyone seeking a job should have a blog to showcase their talent, especially if they are going into PR, marketing, HR, customer service, or sales. A blog will stay with an interviewer long after the 45 minute interview time slot is up. Being able to move community and make cohesive thoughts based on your passions, emotions, and experience is a very important job skill. Of course some people have no writing ability, and if that’s you, understand it’s not that difficult to write when you have a passion and personal experiences.

Because many of the traditional ways of advertising such as TV, newspaper and radio are going away, a new type of connection is needed with one’s customers. Content such as blogging, podcasting, and video marketing will help save money. Use your life and stories to explain and connect with people; be emotional more than technical. Every company has the ability to do that, and if they do it will help them be successful. Do they have the courage? Do you?

The discussion then turned to another one of Mark’s books, The Tao of Twitter: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters At a Time. He explains that Taoism, an Eastern religion, means “path,” and there is a path to correctly using any type of media. The first step is to get appropriate content, meaning posting topics and thoughts that are relevant and insightful. After that, you have to grab the right audience and market to them; if you do the work in making yourself an appropriate source of information, people will come to you. Finally, be thoughtful. People don’t want to be sold your ideas, they want to be helped.

If you make your social media activity a conversation instead of marketing, you will establish relationships in order to help others. Once you establish relationships, people will see small, consistent provocations, and eventually you will be able to make sales and establish loyalty.

From speaking with Mark, it is obvious that he enjoys helping people understand social media; that’s why he does consultations. He believes that his competitive advantage is that he’s older than the average user. He has enough perspective to look at an internet marketing strategy and suggest proven ways to help companies get from A to B. He believes that the biggest deficit in business is marketing. While people know how to create something, they don’t always know how to spread and connect it to others. Getting a consultant for help can be very beneficial.

Chris Curran of Fractal Recording and David Deutsch of SynergiSocial signed off with their tip of the week segment. On LinkedIn, you can see who is “stalking you,” or in other words, viewing your profile. Don’t be shy! You can reach out to people with notes such as “thank you for viewing my profile! Is there anything I can help you with?” You can turn their curiosity in a relationship and opportunity. They’re “stalking” you for a reason!

We were overjoyed to have Mark Schaefer as a guest today, and we really appreciated his experience, knowledge and expertise in the world of social media and marketing. Social media can be used to monetize any product, if you learn how to use it correctly – and there’s a ton of help out there.

It’s been determined that good social media can’t make a bad company better, no matter how hard you try. Today your hosts Chris and David tap the enthusiasm and knowledge of the show’s special guest Peter Shankman to help make social media (especially in terms of customer service) more understandable, more useful, and more fun.

Peter Shankman, founder of the PR, Social Media, and Marketing Strategy firm The Geek Factory, Inc. and writer behind the blog http://shankman.com/ is also a public speaker, entrepreneur, and author. He has written three books: Nice Companies Finish First, Customer Service, and Can We Do That?! He is an international and national traveler with stories, experience, and tons of talent.

You’ve probably heard of Peter because of HARO – Help A Reporter Out – a database that allows reporters to find sources and experts to find reporters. He founded and ran the site until it was acquired by Vocus, Inc. In doing this, along with the rest of his acquired knowledge, he learned an important thing about business – it pays to be nice. He did some research and found that when you are even somewhat nice, it is shown that there are 40% product increases. Nice businesses makes loyal people.

This lead to his new book, published early 2013, Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management is Over and Collaboration Is In. The book explains that the “authoritarian cowboy CEO era is over,” or in other words, Machiavelli’s famous thought that it is better to be feared than loved, is just a little outdated.

The discussion of this knowledge on the show lead to David’s assertation that many business people are reportedly sociopaths, but after some analytical chatting with Peter in the self-professed ADHD-fest of an episode, any listener can tell that Peter really wants to help. In fact, since he sold HARO, he’s been consulting with the goal of proving how companies around the world are reinventing customer service.

Peter professes that although he loves social media, he believes that too many businesses are sacrificing customer service in order to use social media. “Social media doesn’t need its own special week, it needs a good swift kick in the ass;” he stated that nothing new can replace common sense or good quality service, and many businesses are now toying with social media based customer service instead of truly fixing problems.

As the episode progressed, the hosts and Peter started to discuss new occurrences and issues in the social media world. Cars can allegedly tweet through your GPS to let people know where you are, and apparently is it now possible for a car to tweet to you that it needs an oil change or gas. As the new Graph Search (a more intensive search on past “likes,”) on Facebook comes about, we realize that any type of privacy died 30 years ago.

This creates a sense of catch 22; to use social media and lose your privacy, or to not use social media and not get ahead in business in this world. Additionally, technology makes us weaker and stronger at the same time – it does our work for us while we are still expected to do things ourselves. However, some lack of privacy is helpful, especially when it comes to revenue. A company that Peter has invested in is called Knod.es, which is up and coming in the fundraising world. The program looks at social media “likes” of the people one interacts with and registers any data they create in a way that will be helpful to an investor. It is using small data information in a smart, intelligent way.

Peter believes that the concepts of “like-ing, fan-ing, friend-ing” are going away. Instead, our relationships will be “seen” by our social media and make updates to our accounts based on the information it gathers about where we are, who we are interacting with, and what we are doing.

But, as David counters, what about narcissism? People will still be friending each other and liking what they choose for an aspect of control. This contributes to the blatant misuse of Facebook. However, due to the diagnosed FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, everyone wants to be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest. Because of this, social media accounts are being used incorrectly, even if one has a good business.

However, we can probably all agree that in time, many of the negative “wrinkles” in social media will get ironed-out. And Peter Shankman definitely contributes to that positive evolution. Thanks Peter!

Like most settlers of new spaces, there is always more to learn, especially about how to use social media effectively in a business to drive costumer communication. Social media is ever expanding and growing, and as discussed in the news portion of the show, the wrong status update can get you in serious trouble. However, social media can also be an important aspect of business strategy – if you know how to use it. To showcase someone who does, our hosts called upon the expertise of Joseph Ruiz (@SMSJOE) from Strategic Marketing Solutions.

Joseph Ruiz – Strategic Marketing Solutions

Strategic Marketing Solutions, started in 2001, is a service marketing and consulting firm. They “create and execute integrated marketing strategies to build brand-consumer relationships that are engaging, measurable and profitable.” This means that they take all of the mountains and deserts that their customers have and pave the roads to reach new heights.

Ruiz stressed that in order to have effective social media strategies, you must have proper data, timing, and most importantly, the right message. You must know your target audience and proposition, and of course, who you want to appear as. As Deutsch and Ruiz discussed, companies no longer get to control their brands – the people do. Those who are on top of the social media world are able to make and spread messages about companies. The best thing to do in a case like this? Find out what these people are saying and move with it. New sites such as Vizify, which makes a portrait of all of a user’s social media, can help with that.

Joe Ruiz mentioned two large companies that are using social media in different, but equally effective ways – Nike and Starbucks. Nike’s integrative marketing strategy is known as #makeitcount, which focuses on the consumer as the athlete instead of a professional. This makes the social media much more local and mobile, and the people are able to experience the product and spread it to each other in a way that a simple ad would not do.

Starbucks, too, uses social media to communicate with its customers, but in a different way. Starbucks uses email, texting, phone payment, and rewards as a way to spread data and relevant information to their customers. Additionally, Walmart has a mobile app that allows the shopper to access their shopping list and receive help finding their items in the store. (!) Verizon has a twitter based costumer service, as do many others. The big businesses have the right idea. Whichever way you use social media, to get people to speak and engage or to give them correct information, doing it effectively will help a business immensely.

So how do you use social media correctly? The first thing to do is to ask the right questions; the answers will not just appear. Start exploring. You have to understand the costumer, where they want to go, and what platforms they are already using. Make a map. Then you can go into what Joe is fluent in: Integrated marketing ideas, or “how to tie everything together.” Start moving. You can measure the effectiveness by collecting data in any way that works for you; there’s no perfect way. Reflect on how far you’ve traveled.

Anyone can discover use the new foundations of social media for their business, big or small. As long as you know what you’re looking for and what you want it to do, you can keep on exploring. …Bon Voyage!

On this week’s Social Media Unscrambled, the show hosts got a visit from a “cousin;” another podcaster in the world of social media. “Beyond the To-Do List” host Erik J. Fisher (@erikjfisher), a source of social media and entrepreneurial knowledge, was welcomed onto the show with open arms by Chris Curran of Fractal Recording and David Deutsch of Synergi Social. (once Chris figured out that pesky Skype issue.. 😉

You know you’ve made it on the internet when your podcast is listed in the top 20-50 in its category in iTunes. Erik’s show focuses on personal productivity perspective, which, in short, is understanding what a person can do to be productive and effective in their own way. In his entertaining half hour with Chris and Dave on #smUnscrambled, Erik shared some of his social media knowledge, what platforms he uses, how he defines productivity, and one of his most compelling interview guests . Thankfully Erik also shared what his typical social media day and week are like. And did you know he’s the social media correspondent for The Podcast Answer Man 😉

The show started out lively and friendly as usual, as the hosts discussed a missing red panda (and the zoo’s use of social media to find it!) before introducing their guest. Erik used some of his time as well as examples to demonstrate that without a proper idea and goal for one’s social media activities, it can be a huge waste of time. For a small business owner, social media can get in the way of clients and sales, instead of acting as a way to drive revenue.

The question to ask yourself: Is your social media a distraction for you, or a driving force? Productivity, to Erik, is doing the right things at the right time, not only doing many things in a timely manner. As he stated, what’s the point of being productive if you’re not doing the right things – the things that actually help your business? Social media, as the hosts realized, can either be a time suck, or it can do miraculous things such as clinch a deal or find a red panda – just as long as objectives and timing are planned to maximize usefulness.Erik mentioned his most influential podcast guest- the author of Getting Things Done, David Allen. He emphasized that in order to be successful, one must identify and utilize a trusted system, which usually requires planning, practice and tweaking. A system for social media interaction is unique to everyone, definitely not one-size-fits-all. The most important thing to do is to be you.

The show went on to discuss the new usage of the hashtag on Facebook, and what exactly a hashtag is. A hashtag, according to Erik and David, adds meta-data and media to a post, can make a point, and makes it easy to find stories, articles, ads, and people. The hashtag, contrary to common belief, is not owned by twitter, and is now being used all over the internet.

The most unique part of SMU is the host’s ability to interact with their listeners. As the talk about the hashtag occurred, two listeners posted comments, one about helpful tips on how to use hashtags, and the other to emphasize the point that hashtags make it easier to connect on Facebook without ads. And EdgeRank got a mention too; EdgeRank is a kind of Search Engine Optimization within Facebook itself, which determines how many people actually see your posts.

The soundest piece of advice that was given on the show was to just be yourself. Using your time management, unique skills, and resources is the best way to get attention and create business. Businesses can learn a lot from other people, as David Deutsch told the story of a listener who found a typo on his SynergiSocial.com website, and instead of becoming defensive, etc, David cultivated a beneficial relationship with this person. (FYI- This listener can be found at www.karmabridge.com providing acupuncture and herbals….and fyi David DID fix the typo 😉 Using skills and personality allows a businessperson to make friends with their clients efficiently and naturally.

Erik J. Fisher made a plethora of good points on the show. Remember to figure out what your business needs, and do it. Oh, and have you been jotting all of this advice down? I hear to-do lists are helpful…

Without the listening community, Social Media Unscrambled, much like other social networking platforms, would be nothing. While it has been coined the “single best 30 minute chunk of time you can invest in your social media effectiveness,” without anyone to hear the catchy slogan, what point would there be? The motor behind all social media is the amount of eyes viewing it, as the effective social media user understands.

While hosts Chris and David have created something innovative with #smUnscrambled as a way for listeners to understand effective social media use, they still seek to expand their reach. They are looking towards developed entrepreneurs and advancers of the industry. The hosts were therefore proud to welcome Dino Dogan, whose site triberr.com is a recent yet massively influential development in the blogosphere.

One of Dino’s original blogs, diyblogger.net, (which is still going strong!) is a jewel of information on marketing, media and content. Dino got the idea for Triberr when he was trying to market his own blog. He had people who were helping him get his content out, and he was helping them, it was complicated and confusing – he decided there had to be a better way. But there wasn’t. So he made it.

But what exactly is Triberr? How can an average, everyday blogger use it to do what social media is supposed to do – to expand reach? The first thing to ask; are you a blogger or not?

If you’re not a blogger, Triberr is a site that allows you to read (and share) many blogs on similar topics of interest, all found conveniently grouped.

David, Naomi, Chris and Dino! .. Copyright AndoPhotography.com

For bloggers, Triberr is a social network in itself; a way to interact and create traffic and attention to their posts. Triberr allows bloggers to form groups, called “tribes,” of blogs in the same genre. A tribal chief, who can be anyone using the site, can create a tribe based on a topic, and then allow users to join the tribe. The blogger can then interact with people who write and post similar content, and will expand their outreach and help keep eyes on their site. Triberr, in short, is blog amplification.

In Dino’s opinion, blogs started back with the stone ages, when people made cave paintings on the walls. It was a way for early humans to express themselves, and that desire has not ceased. Triberr simply makes it easier for a person’s form of expression to be reachable. Based on the type of tribe a person has joined and which posts they “approve,” triberr takes care of publishing the post to gain maximum reach.

It is not only the number of readers that Triberr helps the blogger increase; it is the quality of the reader. Too many social media users focus on their number of followers, when they should be writing for a specific type of reader. Triberr allows a user to be published to people who truly care about what they’re reading – community members of the same type of thought.

And what is next for triberr.com? Soon it will allow companies to recruit bloggers and tribes into their marketing campaigns, which, for bloggers, is a far better way to monetize their blog content than traditional ads.

But most importantly, Triberr wants to help you and your thoughts to reach their maximum potential, starting with your community and expanding to the whole world.

Many thanks to Dino Dogan for coming by Fractal Recording and sharing so many pearls and nuggets!